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Cage 146
Ella Elizabeth Clark
Papers, 1944-1965
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| Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections Pullman, WA 99164-5610 USA (509) 335-6691 Inquiries |
Cage 146
Ella Elizabeth Clark
Papers, 1944-1965
The Ella E. Clark papers were donated to the Washington State Library by Miss Clark between the years 1959-1968.
Ella Elizabeth Clark (1896-1984) was born at Summertown, Tennessee. After attending high school in Peoria, Illinois in 1917 she became a high school teacher though she did not receive her B.A. from Northwestern University until 1921. Miss Clark continued to teach high school English and dramatics until 1927 when she received her M.A. from Northwestern and began teaching at Washington State University. From 1927 to 1961, when she retired from the English faculty as professor emeritus, she taught both beginning and advanced writing and literature courses and wrote on such diverse subjects as Indian mythology, botany, and firefighting in our national forests.
In 1933, in collaboration with fellow faculty member Paul P. Kies, she wrote a writer's manual and workbook which was soon followed by an annotated anthology of poetry which she authored alone. It was also in the 1930's that Miss Clark began her travels in Canada, Alaska, and the Pacific Northwest in search of the varied myths and legends of the North American Indian which were dying in the wake of the new urbantechnological age. She continued this work into the next decade while continuing to be an active teacher and member of several professional, campus, and local history associations. The Second World War involved Miss Clark as a fire lookout for the United States Forest Service in the Cascades for several summers. This new experience provided her with rich materials for publication on the varied flora of the Cascades and attempts to prevent fire from destroying this natural heritage.
However, the major core of Miss Clark's work continued to be the diverse legends of the Indian. Her findings were published in Indian Legends of the Pacific Northwest (1953), Indian Legends of Canada (1960), and Indian Legends From the Northern Rockies (1966). This scholarly interest in mythology flowed over into a general concern for the well-being and future of the American Indian which is apparent not only in her published works but in her personal correspondence
DESCRIPTION OF THE PAPERS
The Ella E. Clark papers consist in the main of typescript drafts of two books and many articles. In addition, there are manuscript research notes used in preparation for the works on Indian mythology. The rather brief correspondence, both professional and personal, offer an interesting complementary source of information on the varied aspects of Miss Clark's life.
ARRANGEMENT OF THE PAPERS
The papers are arranged chronologically in consecutively numbered folders in four series: Professional and personal correspondence; Drafts of books and articles; Research notes on Indian mythology; and Published articles.
CONTAINER LIST